More and more businesses are embracing social media as a weapon in not only promoting their products, but also in establishing online visibility. From Twitter to Facebook to Google+ to LinkedIn, companies are using different online platforms to connect with their audience. But just like any activity made on the internet, creating a social media account may be putting sensitive company information at risk.
Accessing your account means total control on what to post and what message to send, ultimately carving how you would appear in the public's eye. The enemy may not always be external, sometimes the risk lies within your company. To avoid unwanted circumstances of hacking and unauthorized use, here are precautions you can take to secure your corporate social media account.
Create a Strong Password
This is a no-brainer. The first thing in securing your corporate social media account - or any account, for that matter - is by creating a strong password for it. Right now, you may not be able to think of anyone who might be interested in hacking your account but hackers don't give a warning of how and when they are going to do this. It may be an old disgruntled employee, a disappointed customer, or a bitter competitor. Come up with a complex password which isn't anything related to your company or product. A combination of letters, numbers, and symbols is always advisable, and changing it on a regular basis will also help.
Limit the Admins
If your marketing team is in charge of updating your social media posts, you don't necessarily have to provide the whole team with the password. Grant access only to those employees who really need it. It's as simple as this: the more people that can access your corporate account, the more chances of it getting compromised. It would mean more people could voluntarily or be tricked into leaking the password to another person, or more number of heads could accidentally be doing personal transactions through the corporate account.
Assign Designated Devices
Along with keeping the admins at a minimum, also require them to access your corporate accounts through specific devices. This is an extra measure that you can take as corporate-managed workstations are easier to monitor. It is also a way of preventing the account being logged in, even after using it, on an unauthorized device. This means that you might also need to skip on accessing the account through mobile. Strictly implement this rule and let your employees understand the need to do so.
Have a Higher Admin
Aside from your assigned admins, opt to have somebody with a higher power: your IT department. Give them more control when it comes to managing the activities of your social media accounts. According to Nate Ulery, who leads the IT infrastructure and operations practice at West Monroe Partners, you can consider "utilizing password reset email addresses that are not accessible by the social media team without IT involvement." Another way to do this is by not giving out actual login credential to employees. You can instead use a social media manager like Hootsuite. This software allows your employees to post without them having to know the actual password.
Educate the Employees
Just like everything else, it is necessary for your employees to understand the need of having security and privacy the way you understand it. Instigate them to observe proper measures by educating them more about hacking and phishing and the making them aware of the different risks.
Constantly be Updated With Privacy and Security Settings
Sites regularly update their privacy settings so it is essential that you do too. Constantly review it and make sure that your own setting and internal guidelines are based on it. This is also a good way to check if you are still comfortable with the kind of privacy and security a specific site can provide.
About The Author: Amanda Smith is a blogger based in San Diego, California. She loves writing about technology and gadgets, health and wellness, fashion and interior design, and just about anything that tickles her fancy. You can catch more of her works at wordbaristas.com.
Did you find this article helpful? Please let Amanda and myself know by leaving us your valued comments in the comments section below.
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Related articles:
Spear-Phishing On Twitter: How Not To Become The Catch Of The Day
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© 2013. This article is DMCA protected. Republication is prohibited.
Accessing your account means total control on what to post and what message to send, ultimately carving how you would appear in the public's eye. The enemy may not always be external, sometimes the risk lies within your company. To avoid unwanted circumstances of hacking and unauthorized use, here are precautions you can take to secure your corporate social media account.
Create a Strong Password
This is a no-brainer. The first thing in securing your corporate social media account - or any account, for that matter - is by creating a strong password for it. Right now, you may not be able to think of anyone who might be interested in hacking your account but hackers don't give a warning of how and when they are going to do this. It may be an old disgruntled employee, a disappointed customer, or a bitter competitor. Come up with a complex password which isn't anything related to your company or product. A combination of letters, numbers, and symbols is always advisable, and changing it on a regular basis will also help.
Limit the Admins
If your marketing team is in charge of updating your social media posts, you don't necessarily have to provide the whole team with the password. Grant access only to those employees who really need it. It's as simple as this: the more people that can access your corporate account, the more chances of it getting compromised. It would mean more people could voluntarily or be tricked into leaking the password to another person, or more number of heads could accidentally be doing personal transactions through the corporate account.
Assign Designated Devices
Along with keeping the admins at a minimum, also require them to access your corporate accounts through specific devices. This is an extra measure that you can take as corporate-managed workstations are easier to monitor. It is also a way of preventing the account being logged in, even after using it, on an unauthorized device. This means that you might also need to skip on accessing the account through mobile. Strictly implement this rule and let your employees understand the need to do so.
Have a Higher Admin
Aside from your assigned admins, opt to have somebody with a higher power: your IT department. Give them more control when it comes to managing the activities of your social media accounts. According to Nate Ulery, who leads the IT infrastructure and operations practice at West Monroe Partners, you can consider "utilizing password reset email addresses that are not accessible by the social media team without IT involvement." Another way to do this is by not giving out actual login credential to employees. You can instead use a social media manager like Hootsuite. This software allows your employees to post without them having to know the actual password.
Educate the Employees
Just like everything else, it is necessary for your employees to understand the need of having security and privacy the way you understand it. Instigate them to observe proper measures by educating them more about hacking and phishing and the making them aware of the different risks.
Constantly be Updated With Privacy and Security Settings
Sites regularly update their privacy settings so it is essential that you do too. Constantly review it and make sure that your own setting and internal guidelines are based on it. This is also a good way to check if you are still comfortable with the kind of privacy and security a specific site can provide.
About The Author: Amanda Smith is a blogger based in San Diego, California. She loves writing about technology and gadgets, health and wellness, fashion and interior design, and just about anything that tickles her fancy. You can catch more of her works at wordbaristas.com.
Did you find this article helpful? Please let Amanda and myself know by leaving us your valued comments in the comments section below.
Would you like to guest post on the blog? Please use the Contact tab above to get in touch if you write business-related articles or articles on the topics of Internet Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, Social Media Marketing/Optimisation (SMO), Blogging, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) or Search Engine Marketing (SEM).
Related articles:
Spear-Phishing On Twitter: How Not To Become The Catch Of The Day
If you found this or any of my other posts helpful, don't forget to share the posts to your favourite networks using the toolbar below or by using the "+1" and "Share" buttons located at the bottom of each post.
As ever, if you want to stay up to date with the latest blog posts, don't forget to follow via Google Friend Connect (button on sidebar), on NetworkedBlogs, via Email (maximum of one email per day), on Facebook and Google+ or by subscribing to our blog feed at:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/DereksHomeAndBusinessBlog
You can also follow me on Twitter @djones1509, Google+ and on Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/djones1509
https://plus.google.com/104849975941505117776
Until my next post on Monday with SEO marketing ideas for your business, have a fabulous weekend! See you back here on Monday!
© 2013. This article is DMCA protected. Republication is prohibited.
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